Labor, Delivery and all things baby...

If you follow me on social media, you all now know that Baby Girl McLaughlin made her way into the world on October 2nd, 2015! Such a challenging yet beautiful day that we will never forget! The hours were long, the labor was hard and the day definitely didn't go as planned. An all natural, hypnobirth turned into medical interventions, anxiety and stress from the hospital staff. But even with all the unplanned hiccups, the day was nothing short of a miracle. I have a few things that kept the day grounded and focused that I am sharing below.

My #1 "must have" is support. I had the most incredible support system and cant even begin to describe the role that each one of them played in our special day. To you all, you know who you are, thank you.

The next few items are listed below...

Dewdrop Diffuser & Essential oils - We kept oils diffusing all night and day which kept the room calm, quiet and fresh. We applied a list of oils on to me including Clary Sage to help aide in the delivery, Peace & Calming on wrists and over my heart, Peppermint for nausea, Panaway for back pain and we had Gentle Baby constantly diffusing during labor and once Baby Mia was born. These were literally ESSENTIAL to the atmosphere of the room and helped me labor for 7 hours naturally!

Headphones & Worship Music - Check out my playlist here, but I made sure to pack headphones so I could cancel out any other noises, conversations and interruptions. We practiced hypnobirthing techniques so concentration was a must. My top two songs that got me through each wave (contraction) were both by Bethel - "You Make Me Bravo" & "A little Longer". These two songs in particular helped me focus on how special this day was, that I was only going to birth this baby once and that I needed to cherish this day. That this day was a blessing. And when Mia made her entrance, it was so emotional for everyone in the room. The Holy Spirit truly showed up.

Sleep Mask - And finally, a sleep mask. This also helped with concentration and focus.

Click on the images below to purchase each item or find out more about them!